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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Barry Manilow, Law Enforcement's 'Secret Weapon'

Whenever I go to Virginia Beach for the weekend, I can't help but notice the city's strategy of playing classical music in spots on the street where they don't want people to congregate. It seems an Australian city likes the idea but with a different twist, using Barry Manilow and Doris Day music to drive loiterers away. Obviously the thinking here is to play "old people music" in the hopes that young loiterers won't stick around.

I'll bet it works better than classical music. I'd go nuts if I lived there.

SYDNEY, Australia - It could be magic for some, but the use of loud Barry Manilow music to drive away late-night revelers from a suburban Sydney park is getting on the nerves of nearby residents.

In a move reminiscent of U.S. efforts to drive former Panama strongman Manuel Noriega from the Vatican Embassy where he took refuge in 1989, the local council in Rockdale, in Sydney's southern suburbs, started a six-month trial of high-volume hits by Manilow and Doris Day to chase away car enthusiasts who were gathering on weekend nights at Cook Park Reserve.

But some people living near the park are less than enthralled. They say the barrage of "Copacabana," "Could It Be Magic" and "Que Sera Sera," blasting from 9 p.m. to midnight every Friday, Saturday and Sunday is driving them crazy.

"I don't know how I will cope," said Moya Dunn, describing how the songs have invaded her house. "I just can't sleep when it's on, and to think there's going to be another six months of this."

Officials have given in a little, agreeing to turn down the volume a bit after residents complained.

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I'm a media technology consultant and president of the political marketing firm, Dialog New Media. My background is in political science, web development, and journalism.
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